High School Wrestlers Sought to Pack Titan Gym Nov. 5, 2004 -- Fullerton, CA
By Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
California USA Wrestling is supporting an effort by Cal State Fullerton’s
varsity wrestling team to break some attendance records in an upcoming
dual meet event.
It will be “High School Day” in Titan Gym on Friday, Nov.
19, when Cal State Fullerton hosts Pac-10 rival Stanford in a Div. I wrestling
dual meet to highlight a three-mat extravaganza. NAIA national power Embry-Riddle
will simultaneously wrestle a CSF "B" team and Palomar and Santa
Ana Colleges also will go head-to-head. There will be three mats placed
side-by-side, so spectators can enjoy all three duals at the same time.
Admission is free to all high school teams that submit a roster in advance.
In the first two years of this program, the number of high school wrestlers
at the meet climbed from about 350 to more than 1,200. Organizers are
shooting for at least 1,500 high school wrestlers at the event this year.
“The idea is to showcase all levels of college wrestling for the
high school kids,” said Fullerton head Coach Dan Hicks. “This
is great for our program, because we get the wrestlers on campus. But
the main thing is to show them that there are opportunities to wrestle
in college.
“People in Southern California are starved for college wrestling,”
said Hicks. “This is a fun event. We do a half-time break. We throw
T-shirts into the stands. We have a good time.”
The competition begins at 2:30 p.m. at the Cal State Fullerton campus.
Teams are encouraged to arrive by 1:45 p.m. to park and register. Teams
should send a FAX of their high school wrestling roster on school letterhead
to Coach Hicks at 714-278-3141 by Nov. 15. The roster should have all
the names of wrestlers and coaches who will attend. Wrestlers are asked
to bring an ID when they come to the competition.
In addition to the wrestling action, California USA Wrestling will present
its Appreciation Award to Cal State Fullerton Athletic Director Brian
Quinn during the festivities. Quinn is credited for standing up for wrestling
at the institution, and making sure that no sports were cut there, even
in the face of difficult financial challenges.
“He stepped up and said we really would rather not cut programs,”
said Hicks. “To have 1,500 kids give Brian Quinn a standing ovation
is great for wrestling and for the University.”
Cal State Fullerton’s wrestling program has been improving in recent
years, with a best-ever third-place team finish at the 2004 Pac-10 Championships.
Four Titan wrestlers qualified to compete at the 2004 NCAA Div. I Championships.
“They had been last in the Pac –10 in the past,” said
Hicks. “We were one match from winning the Pac-10 last year. We
thought we would do OK, but we went from worst to almost first. We are
excited about the team this year. We should be even better.”
The project is part of the many activities that California USA Wrestling
participates in to build the sport in the state. Hicks serves as the Open
Director on California USA Wrestling’s board.
“We are getting involved with college wrestling in the state,”
said Rob Valerio of California USA Wrestling. “We give all of the
colleges in the state our support to help protect and build their programs."
